In his recent paintings, C. H. Hertel turns to ancient China for his direct inspiration. The circles he explains are primarily man­dalas, cosmic diagrams; the hexagrams come from the I Ching, the Chinese Book of Divination of the Chou Dyn­n­asty. Outwardly, the relation is evident and goes even further in such pieces as Yu #2 where the general form is reminiscent of that of the ceremonial vessel. There is even a metallic patina quality to the paint and a reference to incised pattern from the use of both plastic wood and glue. How essentially Eastern the ideograms are differs wide­ly. As paintings they are more success­ful when the symbol is the most com­­plicated and the least clarified, when the color is kept to soft variations of green, light red and grey-white, and when the collage is used as a restricted element. In contrast, the small sculp­tures of Susan Lautmann Hertel have their greatest impact when they stay closest to the experiences of life. Par­ticularly expressive are the Horse Get­ting Up and the Horse Biting Foot, the Pregnant Mare and the Pregnant Dog. Usually, Susan Hertel uses bronze but she has also experimented with epoxy as a material although its texture lacks the warmth and vitality of the traditional metal. The paintings and sculptures, shown together, have re­ciprocal quality, complementing each other in an unexpected manner.

––Constance Perkins